Substitute Mother
by Megii of Mysteri OusStranger
Summary: She didn't remember her real mother, but she figured sensei was a more than suitable substitute.


Truth be told, she'd never really known her mother. The woman had died giving birth to her little sister, leaving the older of the two children with a faint memory of a slender, aristocratic face and eyes like mercury. Then again, everyone in the family had eyes of that color. Dominant genes and all that.

But the fact still remained that she'd had no real female guidance in her life, especially growing up in a society that thrived on those more masculine: strong, outspoken, quick minded, confident… Basically, everything she wasn't. Oh, she knew how to act like a lady, she born into such a high-class family, it was unthinkable _not_ to know, but she didn't know how to act like a girl, how to be a _woman_. In fact, she was most tomboyish girl in class during her school years. She wasn't blonde and beautiful like the Yamanaka Ino, she wasn't outspoken and confident like Haruno Sakura, nor was she brilliant and strong like her cousin's teammate, Tenten. She cut her hair short, hid her curves with baggy clothes, trained until the blisters on her hands burst and bled, and got her knees muddy digging up wild worms for her potted plants after curfew.

She didn't wear pink, she didn't paint her nails or worry over what conditioner to use on her hair, she couldn't talk for hours about boys, she didn't know the first thing about cooking, and she didn't go and collect big bouquets of daisies to give to her father.

She wore gray so that she wouldn't be noticed and could get dirty without getting yelled out for ruining something expensive. She didn't paint her nails, she didn't see the point, and hair was hair- it grew back anyway. There was only one boy she was interested in, and he wasn't some shining white knight because she didn't need him to be. She had the status of a princess, gods forbid someone let her risk burning her hand- why beating her knuckles bloody wasn't an issue, she'd never know- and as much as she loved pressing flowers, she was really only interested in the foreign and exotic blossoms she came across.

Then she graduated.

She was put in a team with two other boys, one loud and brash and cocky, the other quiet and intelligent and simply _obsessed_ with bugs, and she finally was able to make friends with people she could understand. Inuzuka Kiba, for all his arrogance, was patient and supportive and pushed her to speak her mind more when around him and their team. Aburame Shino had an uncanny way of knowing what she was trying to say even when she was at her most nervous, and showed her which bugs would keep her plants healthiest.

Her teacher, however, was the person she grew to love the most. Yuuhi Kurenai was a strong, confident woman: proud, intelligent, a master of illusions, and still undeniably feminine. Her sensei was the person she wished so dearly to be like.

Kurenai was there to show her how big a difference putting on a little blush could feel: for the first time in her life, she felt _beautiful_. Kurenai was there when she had her first period to calm her down and explain that she wasn't going to bleed to death. Kurenai told her the cold, hard truth, but didn't rub it her face like her father did. Kurenai was the first person she openly told about her crush. Kurenai didn't mind giving her a hug when she needed to be held, and let her express herself when the emotional dam was about to burst- emotionless shinobi or not, they were still human.

Kurenai was, to her, a mother.

She couldn't imagine a life where she hadn't met her sensei, where Kurenai hadn't been there to teach her how to feel like a woman instead of just acting like one. If it weren't for Kurenai, she'd still be put down like a grasshopper under her father's geta, still to timid to speak up when she'd been offended, and, to be honest, she'd probably still be single.

_Hyuuga Hinata warmly invites you to…_

_The wedding of Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata_

_When: One hour past morning, Saturday, April 1__st_

_Where: Konoha Shinobi Academy_

Kurenai-sensei, will you please be my Maiden of Honor?

_Please RSVP by March 15_

_Signed,_

Love

_Hyuuga Hinata_


End file.
